Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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120. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when employees of a company (details supplied) will not have to retire at 65 years and be allowed to remain in their current positions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8273/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Retirement arrangements for employees of individual companies is a contractual matter between employers and employees.

There is currently no general statutory retirement age for employees in Irish legislation, apart from for certain public sector employees where statutory retirement ages may apply. A contract of employment often sets out a specific retirement age but this is a matter of contract between the parties. It is important to note that under employment equality legislation, an employer is currently permitted to set a retirement age but can only do so in circumstances where it can be objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.

In March 2024, Government approved the drafting of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024 in order to implement a key commitment included in the response to the Pensions Commission Recommendations and Implementation Plan.

The purpose of the Bill is to introduce measures that allow, but do not compel, an employee to stay in employment until the age at which they can first access the state pension, age 66. This reflects the fact that many employees continue to want to retire at the contractual retirement age.

The General Scheme of the Bill was referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and the Committee published its report on 24 May 2024.

Officials have been working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel during the drafting process. The Bill, now titled the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025, is a priority for publication during the Spring 2025 session.

Once enacted, there will be an appropriate lead-in time in advance of commencement of the legislation during which there will be a communications campaign to ensure employers and employees fully understand the implications.

I would also draw your attention to existing guidelines which provide assistance in best practice in dealing with retirement. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Code of Practice on Longer Working sets out guidance for employers, employees and their representatives to follow during the engagement between employers and employees in the run up to retirement, including responding to requests to work beyond the retirement age. It is available on the WRC's website.

While the timeline for the enactment of the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 will be a matter for the Oireachtas, I hope that the Bill can be enacted well in before the end of 2025, and commenced in early 2026.